Page 124 of Secondhand Smoke
She reached up, her fingers wrapped in his hair in a way that made him want to purr like a cat. “But you’ll bemyegotistical maniac.”
Barrett finally caught her mouth, murmuring, “Always yours.”
* * *
About twenty minutes later, they emerged from behind the stage, adjusting their clothes and pretending that they had been up to absolutely nothing.
Barrett was pulled into a conversation to talk about their demo, and about eight minutes after that, Nell disappeared, as she usually did every now and then—most of the time, he found her dancing or chatting with Tina somewhere in the maze of rooms and hallways backstage.
He liked seeing Nell have fun. He liked seeing her laugh and gossip and enjoy her time. He liked seeing her happy. She really seemed happy.
It was about forty minutes later when he realized he hadn’t seen her for a while.
“Have you seen Nell?” Barrett shouted to Dennis over the music coming from the loudspeakers right next to him.
Dennis gave a halfhearted look around, not delighted at being interrupted while talking to a new girl. He shook his head. “No.”
Barrett was used to having to search around for Nell often here, and he was used to people not knowing where she was.
He nearly gave up looking when he finally spotted Tina coming out of one of the restrooms toward the back—without Nell.
“Tina,” Barrett called out, and the girl paused when she saw him.
Normally, Tina was ecstatic whenever Barrett talked to her. Not to sound full of himself, but she always seemed star-struck when he hung around her when she was with Nell. But this time, his wave was met with a nervous smile and wide eyes.
Barrett raised a brow and dropped his hand. “You seen Nell? I figured she was with you.”
Tina laughed awkwardly. “Oh yeah, she’s just in the bathroom. I’ll let her know you’re looking for her.”
“That’s fine,” he said, stepping toward the bathroom. “I just need to tell her something real quick—”
“No!” Tina stepped in front of him. “I mean . . .” She bit her nail.
Barrett realized, like a ball hitting the side of his head, that something was wrong. That he was missing something. That she washidingsomething.
“What’s going on? Where’s Nell?” he asked more urgently.
Tina sighed and shook her head, her wide eyes unable to hold his for longer than a few seconds at a time. “She’s just stressed out and says you shouldn’t know. So I’m just . . .”
“What the hell are you talking about? Nell—”
Just as he was about to call out to Nell and hope she would respond, the bathroom door opened.
For a second, a flood of relief hit him with dizzying force. There she was. Fine, it looked like, with a wide smile on her face.
That relief was followed just as quickly by an even stronger slam of disbelief.
He’d almost missed it. Almost missed the way she sniffed, the way she wiped at her nose, and the white powder that lingered just on the side.
She saw him too, and her careless smile fell.
“Scott . . .” Her voice was breathless and, worst of all, guilty.
“What the hell?” He shook his head. “What the hell were you doing in there?”
“I . . .” She blinked. “Nothing.”
“Nothing? I’m not blind, Nell. I justsawthat.”
